Hmmmm... I kahn see that happening.

I'm still not buying the title thing for a few reasons.

1) Why has there never been a mention of "Kahn" being an Outworld title after all this time?

2) Correct me if my memory is a bit jogged, but didn't Shao Kahn lose position of his throne in Deadly Alliance after Quan Chi and Shang Tsung "murdered" him? In Deception, he still resurfaced as Shao Kahn. If Kahn is indeed just a title, wouldn't he come back as just Shao? It wasn't until Armageddon that he regains the throne of Outworld.


Unless I'm just getting too technical. This is MK after all~

The title might not mean "king" just because a "Khan", which is spelled different, is a kind of king on Earth.

Kotal is some kind of god, demigod, or Elder God, and Shao used to be a god. Maybe all the gods of Outworld are Kahns?

I'm not convinced Kotal is an Outworld god. He borrows so so SO heavily from an Earthrealm culture I just think it'd be a misstep somehow.

Maybe he's taken over Outworld and is trying to ride Shao Kahn's coattails or something.

i like that we are just now concerned with what the term "kahn" means

He has a design similar to Shao Kahn's mask design on his loincloth? We have to go with what Ed said but it is highly unlikely that a powerful being like Shao Kahn can completely be destroyed.

I don't think it is so much that as it is trying to find the correlation to Shao himself. To say they're not related is one thing, but then to say Kahn is a title is like all of a sudden saying Tsung, Lao, or Chi are titles rather than names. You take one of the most well known antagonists of the series, throw in a new character with half of his name in it, and then get by saying it's part of a title just doesn't seem right to me.

Good point with the other characters with two word names.

I guess I never looked at Kahn being just a last name cause of ghengis khan and the similar mentalities but who knows.

Has Kitana ever been called Kitana Kahn? If it is Shao's last name, then it would make sense for Kitana to have it as well, as she is adopted and raised to believe she is Shao's true daughter.

And would that mean that Sindel got the name Kahn as well when they married? And is Mileena's name also Mileena Kahn?

There was a conversation about that a few years ago lol. I do believe Kitana Jackson was thrown around as well.

I don't think Shao Kahn's last name is Kahn. I think HE is just Shao Kahn.

Well every realm is made out of a mishmash of Earth cultures. Shao looked Japanese in MK2, Kotal looks Aztec now...I really doubt he's an Earthrealm character.

Besides, Earthrealm already has a lot of gods, it's the other realms whose pantheons need more fleshing out.

Yeah the fuckton of Earthrealm gods and them seeming to be element based is what gives me pause. I don't put much stock in Shao Kahn looking like an Asian warlord though, they seem to make him a more generic kind of baddie now.

Really I just wish they would give us something because I find myself super interested in Kotal's story.

If you take both side by side, they are probably the same height.

Theory: After the events of MK9, Shao Kahn was near death and the elder gods promised him life in return for fighting for them. All was agreed and the elder gods transformed him into the "Aztec God".
With a new name, look and a new array of specials, he is fighting for what was his.

Seriously, Shao Kahn couldn't do alone in battle. So, as a "god" he can.

In the ending, Kotal Kahn is actually Shao Kahn.

This.

If Shao Khan was a god at one point, analogous to Raiden, is it even possible to permanently kill him? Raiden, for example, can be *killed*, but he always reforms back on Earth after a period of time.

I know he's no longer a god, technically, but Shao Kahn appeared to have possessed power on par with Raiden. Perhaps Boon's giving us a half-truth when he says Kotal Kahn isn't Shao Kahn. Maybe he isn't Kahn in the traditional sense, but a reformed Kahn (perhaps his resurrection was altered, like Raiden's was corrupted in Deception). Thus, while he is indeed Kahn, he's in no way, shape, or form related to the Kahn we know.

Of course, I could always be wrong and perhaps Kahn doesn't possess the self-resurrecting powers Raiden has. Or maybe he does, but the Elder Gods are powerful enough to prevent a lesser god's rebirth.

Just a thought. Correct me if I'm wrong anywhere.

I enjoyed reading this and is also a good theory.

I believe in the old timeline, Shao Kahn and Raiden were said to be brothers?

The brother canon is exclusive to MK: Annihilation, actually.

I would think that if Shao Kahn had survived or had the power to come back from the dead, then Raiden's medallion-message would not have stopped, because he could still win Armageddon. The medallion repairing itself unequivocally means that a paradox has occurred where the future where Kahn kills Blaze and smashes Dark Raiden's head in is no longer able to come true, so Dark Raiden never sent the message at all.

So I'm gonna go with the theory that if the Elder Gods carry you into the fuckin' sky and make you explode, you're perma-dead and their power trumps the reincarnation power of a lesser god.

Oh ok. Couldn't remember, been a long time.

I got this out of the New Boss in MK thread...



Shao Kahn once was a boss and now we will get to play as him but in a new form All hail Shao.....I mean...Kotal Kahn!

Cool theory, bro...

Anyway, I think it's just as valid as any other theory at this point, especially since the powers of the Elder Gods are so vague and relatively ill-defined in MK.

Could be Kahn in a new form, could not be. *shrugs*

It tends to be more effective if you explain your reasons for not liking something on here. I also don't see why you felt his response was negative.

As for Kotal Kahn; I don't believe he's related to Shao Kahn at all, or a reincarnation of him.

Meh, I probably looked too much into it. That's why I edited my response into something a little more neutral and less confrontational.

It came off to me as "this theory is stupid", but having experienced coming off the wrong way myself, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and just assume it was me reading too much into it.

It was 'cause I said the F-word.

I talk like a Kevin Smith movie, don't take it as an indicator of mood.

I hate being so negative, or mean but people need to accept that Kotal Kahn is not related to Shao Kahn. Basically, get-fucking-over it. Why must there be a large discussion on the possibility of Kotal being a new version of Shoa, or some reincarnation? I wish they never added the 'Kahn' onto his name at this point.

They're just theories, man. I honestly don't care one way or the other. It's fun to speculate is all, and odds are it's not Shao Kahn reborn or reforged or what have you.

But until we know for certain, nothing says you can't theorize. Hell, that's half the fun.

It could be explained that he once was a ruler of some region on Earth from another world and, later, Aztecs shaped their civilization in his image.

It would not be the first time, when outside realms influenced culture of Earth in the MK universe. Vampires from human folklore were based on Nitara's race, Bo'Rai Cho from Outworld have invented Drunken Fist style, e.t.c.